I need some parenting advice, please!
I am trying to figure out what ‘extra’ chores my 6-year-old daughter can do to earn extra money for a trip to Build-a-Bear Workshop to make her first bear. Most of the chores I’ve given her today; she starts then says it’s too hard. Well, there’s another thing. I’ll be honest… a couple of the things I’ve asked her to do, I asked her to stop doing because I knew I would to have to go back and do it all over again.
Here are a few things that I’ve tried to get her to do so far today to earn money and what happened:
- Clean the baseboards
- Her thoughts on this chore – she apparently couldn’t rub hard enough to get the dirt off
- My thoughts – She could if she tried harder but I didn’t want to deal with it and I didn’t want to have to go back and clean all the baseboards again so I gave up on that chore.
- Wash spiderwebs off of the outside of the windows
- Her thoughts on this chore – Using the hose to squirt the windows was fun
- My thoughts – I had to help her aim at the spider webs and darn, those things are hard to squirt off with water! It took her about 5 minutes to complete this chore, with my help.
- Clean the front door
- Her thoughts on this chore – “no, thanks”
- My thoughts – “You love spraying stuff. Why don’t you want to clean the door?”
- Dust the window sills
- Her thoughts on this chore – fun and easy and she expected more than $1 for dusting just 3 windows (in about 2 minutes).
- My thoughts – “Really, you’re fussing because I offered you 25¢ to dust 3 windows? in less than 2 minutes?”
So now I’m at a loss as to what chores to have her to do earn extra money.
Her regular chores that will not help her earn money toward a bear are:
- Help with her laundry
- Set and clear the table at each meal
- Help dust
- Make her bed
- Clean her room
- Help keep the kitchen clean
Do you have any suggestions for chores I can have my 6-year-old do to earn money? She wants to earn $30.
Here is my wish list that I would pay her (or my son) really good money to do:
I have windows that need to be cleaned, dusty baseboards that need to be wiped down, wall corners that need to be touch-up painted, and kitchen cabinets that need to be organized.
Why doesn’t she want to do any of these FUN chores? Seriously? They involve paint, spraying, and organizing Tupperware.. all things she LOVES!
I found a printable Goal Chart that I plan on using to track how much money she’s earned but I still need a list of ‘extra’ chores that are reasonable for a 6-year-old to do in order to get her started on a path of earning money.
Any ideas? Please share them below! I really, really appreciate it!
I was not compensated in any way by KidPointz or Build-a-Bear Workshop for writing this post. Nor was I requested to write this post by either company. I just happened to mention them. This is 100% me. 🙂
Why not offer a little for each chore she does, i.e. a dollar for each spider web, or a dollar for each tupperware bowl that will fit in a set, or a dollar for each 4 feet of baseboard she cleans. Once she gets started it may be more fun to seee how far she can go.
ILY
My 6 yr old son cleans the toilet and bathtub in his bathroom. The first couple of times I had to supervise. But he’s gotten the hang of it. My 3 year old helps dry plastic cups from the dishwasher and puts the silverware up.
It might just mean she decides how much she really wants the extra cash. Not all chores are fun. But earning money for something you want is a valuable life lesson. Kudos for teaching her about earning what she wants.